---
title: "A 78-year-old German man was hiding a full-size tank in his basement"
date: "2018-04-02"
modified: "2020-10-21"
authors:
  - name: "Paul Szoldra"
    link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/paul.md"
url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/german-panther-tank/"
categories:
  - "History"
  - "War History"
  - "World War II"
---

# A 78-year-old German man was hiding a full-size tank in his basement

![](<https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/assets.rbl.ms/17289117/origin.jpg>)

![](<https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/assets.rbl.ms/17219194/origin.jpg>)

---

Plenty of people collect World War II memorabilia and small trinkets, but a 78-year-old man in Germany was found with something much bigger: A 44-ton tank.

Acting on a tip, police in northern Germany raided the man's house on Thursday and found a treasure trove of Nazi military gear inside the man's cellar, including a Panther tank, a torpedo, and an anti-aircraft gun. How he got it down into his cellar was not clear, but it took 20 soldiers nearly nine hours to haul everything out, [according](<https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-33381772>) to the BBC.

In the nearby city of Kiel, prosecutors were still trying to figure out whether the weapons violate the country's War Weapons Control Act, which requires military weaponry [to be licensed.](<https://www.iuscomp.org/gla/statutes/KrWaffKontrG.htm>)

Interestingly enough, a guy having a tank as a personal vehicle was somewhat of an open secret in the town.

"He was chugging around in that thing during the snow catastrophe in 1978," Heikendorf Mayor Alexander Orth [told](<https://www.thelocal.de/20150702/police-find-wwii-tank-hidden-in-cellar>) local media. "Some people like steam trains, others like tanks."

## Author
After serving nearly a decade in the U.S. Marines, Paul created [Duffel Blog](<https://www.duffelblog.com>), a site often called "The Onion of the military." Before joining WATM, he reported on defense, tech, and breaking news as the west coast editor for Business Insider. You can learn more [at his website.](<https://www.paulszoldra.com>)

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